"The gods are demanding explanations, Benedict. They thought your plan in Beaumont would give them what they wanted, and now they're pressuring me."
The elderly man who had previously been with the transcendent of Demor was arguing with the Duke of Vitalis, who was also the head of the clergy in the Empire.
"Lucius, you know that's out of my control. I sent my own people to handle it, and they're all dead—even the ones the gods sent. If they're not willing to send someone stronger, they can't blame us."
Lucius's expression darkened.
"It was supposed to be an infiltration mission. If no one had found them, things wouldn't have ended this way. Besides, the gods seem occupied with other matters. We can't allow this, Benedict. If they abandon Demor, we'll never be able to move forward in this rotten world."
The ninth-circle core of the Duke ignited, making his terrifying affinity for light visible.
"I know, but just because you're our ancestor doesn't give you the right to order me around like this. Remember that you haven't been able to break that damn limit either."
Lucius remained unfazed by the duke's threat and smoothly changed the subject:
"By the way, did Sylvia Sterling really succeed? Even Cassandra was surprised."
"There's no doubt about it. That witch achieved what we've been trying to do for more than two centuries."
The two continued talking for a while until Lucius finally withdrew. Once the room fell silent, someone else knocked on the door.
Knock, knock.
"Father? May I come in?"
Lisbeth Vitalis, with her long golden hair and pale pink eyes, entered the room. Her gaze was serious and filled with evident concern.
"What did Grandfather Lucius say? Are they still supporting us?"
"You don't need to worry about that, Lisbeth. Just keep doing what I tell you," the duke replied in a cold voice that left no room for argument.
…
Meanwhile, Cassian returned to where he had left Margery and Cassane, observing both women as they rested.
Adela seemed to have already left to take care of what he had assigned her.
His eyes narrowed.
"Looks like someone annoying was with those people from Pradiles…" he murmured, rubbing his brow in frustration. "I don't have a reason to kill her yet. We'll see what she does; maybe she'll come up with something that entertains me."
He turned his gaze toward the sleeping women; they remained that way until daylight had completely disappeared.
Margery was the first to wake up. She looked around in confusion, but she had spent enough time in this room to recognize it quickly. Then she fixed her eyes on him, who was reclining in an armchair with his eyes closed.
"Cassian?" Her voice sounded hoarse, like someone who had slept a lot but still wasn't fully recovered.
She tried to sit up in bed.
"Ah!" A cry of pain escaped her lips, and her face twisted from the sharp pang.
"Don't move too much. You took quite a hard hit."
He stood up and walked over to her while taking out a small bottle of medicine.
"Here," he handed her a pill. "This should help with the pain and internal injuries."
She took it immediately; she didn't even ask for water to swallow it.
She let out a long sigh and lay back down on the bed.
"What happened? Those two figures… and Cassane!"
He pointed to her side, surprised that she hadn't noticed earlier that she was there.
Margery let out a small, amused laugh, though her expression twisted slightly from the pain.
"What a relief, she's okay… And the person who was helping us? Was she the one who brought us here?"
He nodded.
"Do you know her? I really want to thank her."
"I'll take you to see her once you're feeling better."
She frowned, deep in thought.
"Still… why did they attack us? Were they from Lucratis? They didn't seem to be after Cassane though… Why did they try to kill me?" she murmured the last part to herself.
"They were from Pradiles," he said coldly. "It seems our father has something to do with this. Maybe we should go ask him as soon as we can."
Margery looked at him in confusion but nodded at his words. She still seemed unable to piece together everything that had really happened in that alley.
Silence returned to the room, broken only by Cassane's steady breathing as she remained deep in sleep.
"Brother?" Margery asked hesitantly.
"Hmm?"
She looked to the side, as if considering whether she should continue, and finally asked:
"Now that you know Cassane better… have you thought about taking the engagement seriously? Even though I didn't like the idea before, I've started to get to know her, and she doesn't seem like a bad option as your first wife."
He frowned at her sudden change in attitude.
"Before you hated her, and now it seems like you adore her. What changed, Margery? I'm asking seriously."
Her face saddened for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure.
"It's nothing… Just answer what I asked!"
He sighed, exhausted.
"I don't see her that way, Margery. But it's not like I can cancel the engagement if she doesn't agree. Alexandro already accepted Cédric's bribe."
At his words, Cassane shifted slightly, as if what he had just said had reached her and bothered her.
He didn't bother to check if she was really sleeping; he turned back to Margery.
"I'll spend the night somewhere else. Rest and return to your room tomorrow with Cassane," he said, not giving her time to respond before heading to the door and leaving the room.
A depressing silence filled the space.
Cassane, who had seemed to be sleeping just moments before, suddenly sat up, enduring the pain with a look of displeasure. Margery stared at her intently.
"Did you hear that?"
She didn't answer. Only the night would know what they talked about later.
…
Cassian went to Elizabeth's to meet the "savior" of the day.
When he arrived, he found them chatting calmly. It seemed the siren's wounds had already been treated. Upon seeing him, tension returned to her face, while Elizabeth approached to help him remove his coat and greeted him with a smile.
"I'm sleeping here tonight," he said.
His words made her eyes light up, but she didn't comment on it; she knew he had come for something else.
At that moment, Thalassa gathered the courage to speak.
"How… how are they?" she hesitated.
"They're fine," he replied dryly. "Nothing that won't improve in a couple of days or with medicinal pills. Why didn't you leave?" he asked directly.
She lowered her gaze.
"I was about to, but if you had been in Hidria that day…"
"Hidria?"
"My hometown," she nodded. "Although I spend more time in the capital than there, I always return when I can to take care of some matters. I couldn't leave knowing that if this happened in Azure, I would only see it happen again."
He began to consider her words.
In the past, he had helped many people like her: some were just momentary pastimes, others had become a big part of his life, and others had been collateral damage from something that had already enraged him.
Killing someone at the level of a Nascent Soul to help her wouldn't be difficult, but something told him this wouldn't end there if he went down that path.
That woman was involved in all of this after all; though when she comes, he would see how to deal with her.
He also couldn't allow her to destroy this world, at least not while certain people still lived here.
He always ended up in the same place. He supposed this was why Siyin always insisted he shouldn't go out too much.
He let out a long, heavy sigh, allowing silence to take over the room before raising his eyes and fixing them on hers to answer.
"Don't your people have anyone above the ninth level?"
The question caught the woman off guard; she lowered her gaze, searching for the right words to respond.
"Well…" she stammered, as an almost imperceptible tremor ran through her hands.